Queen of the night

One night only of Queenie van de Zandt’s hilarious comedy and stunning vocals at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts in Brisbane was simply put, not enough.

The sixty minute show was The Best (And Worst) of Queenie van de Zandt as she celebrates twenty-one fantastic years in the biz. The self confessed “never-wanted-to-be-famous” performer shows it’s sometimes just NOT a matter of talent on the road to a long and fulfilling career and it takes a certain self-effacing, ‘piss taking’ attitude to thrive twenty plus years in the industry.

Gracing the sparely laid out and subtly lit stage in the Performance Centre at the “Judy”, Queenie opened the show to a fantastically effective video montage of her past professional shows and also insights into her younger (and not so professional) experiences on the stage.

It set the show up to be a unique glimpse into her bold, eclectic and creative ventures. Queenie then plays to her strengths as a really down to earth character actress and talks to the audience like we are sitting in her living room with 20 years of friendship behind us.

She gives her take on songs such as “50 Percent” from the show “Ballroom” to Joni Mitchel’s “A Case of You” and we also were honored with an original song from her Album Amazon Woman.

Although largely an entertaining and truly laugh-out-loud hilarious show, we did get a glimpse into a raw and vulnerable side of Queenie who shares deep pain over lost relationships. In true sunny spirit though, she flips that loss over to see the bright side of it being an opportunity to start out new and a gift of reinventing yourself.

The show went by all too fast with the audience lapping up every nuance and relaxed performance she gave. If being such a fantastic singer isn’t enough, with a voice that could cut through your grandma’s lamingtons and land in your ear like a nice hot cuppa, this woman kicks goals with her spot on comedic stand up timing.

I’m sure there’s going to be a “Best (and more of the funny Worst) of Queenie van de Zandt” in her fortieth year in the entertainment industry that I, for one, will gladly be there to support.

Rebecca 'Bex' Grennan owns and runs a website for creative entrepreneurs (actors, singers, dancers, theatre folk and unconventional creative businesses) focusing on career coaching, social media marketing strategies, and workshops online and offline uncovering all the Industry myths you’ve been blinded by. She has also worked in the entertainment industry for 12 years as a triple threat and voice over artist represented by Mark Byrne Management in Sydney. Performing History Includes:
Theatre: Sweet Charity, Mame, The Boyfriend, (Melbourne Production Company), The Boy from Oz-Hugh Jackman, Shout! The Legend of the Wild One, Grease- the Arena Spectacular and Opera Australia, Universal Studios Japan, Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Lines
Film: Happy Feet, The Son of the Mask

Rebecca has written 36 articles on AussieTheatre | Read more articles by Rebecca Grennan